The present invention relates generally to planks for decks and, more specifically, to a plank with a protective cladding and connector clips.
Outdoor decks are extremely popular in residential home construction. Homes and apartments, as well as a variety of other buildings, often incorporate exterior decks into their design. These decks provide convenient spaces for a variety of outdoor activities, including cookouts, dining and sunbathing, as well as other leisure activities. Moreover, decks typically are provided with a railing or perimeter fence to keep people from falling over the edge of the deck. Additionally, perimeter and accent fencing is commonly added onto landscapes, creating a boundary for foliage displays and garden areas.
Wood products traditionally have been the primary source of materials for use in decking and fence construction. However, wood products are becoming increasingly scarce due to the harvesting of trees at ever faster rates and the rather limited rate at which timber resources can be replenished. Also, environmental concerns and regulations directed to conservation or preservation of forests tend to restrict the availability of wood products. With the diminishing availability of timber resources, wood products are becoming increasingly expensive. There is, therefore, a substantial need for long-lasting substitute construction materials that can lessen the need to harvest timber resources.
One potential approach to addressing the above need is to provide substitute fence and decking products made of plastic, rather than wood. Such plastic products provide a long-lasting alternative to wood. In addition, plastic fence and deck products alleviate the need for costly painting and repainting. A variety of plastic building products are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,603 describes a three-layer synthetic construction material made from recycled waste thermoplastic synthetic resin material and cellulose fiber aggregate. This material includes face surfaces consisting essentially of re-hardened fused and rolled thermoplastic synthetic resin material bits, and an intervening core material consisting essentially of a compressed non-homogenous mixture of cellulose aggregate material bits and re-hardened fused thermoplastic synthetic resin material bits. Such plastic materials have been used to create decking and fencing elements, but have not proven entirely satisfactory.
Accordingly, a need yet remains in the art for decking system that can be quickly and easily installed, and that is made from a plentiful, light-weight, weather-resistant material. It is to the provision of such a fence system that the present invention is primarily directed.
Generally described, in a first preferred form the present invention provides a wood deck plank with a protective cladding. The plank comprises a wood core having a top surface and two sides, with a groove formed in each of the sides, and a cladding formed onto the top surface, with the cladding selected to provide weather protection and durability. In a preferred form, the wood core is laminated from a plurality of wood strips bonded together. In an alternative form, the wood core is provided by a plurality of wood chips bonded together. In either case, the wood core includes residual wood components instead of solid pieces of lumber.
In the preferred form, the cladding is provided by a sheet of a material such as a plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylic, polycarbonate, or composite thereof, that is bonded to the top surface. In the alternative form, the cladding is provided by two or another number of sheets of a material such as a polyester, phenol, epoxy, and composite thereof, that are sprayed or rolled onto the top surface. The cladding has an exposed surface that is textured by an impression technique, and the cladding is sufficiently thick so that the top surface remains substantially covered and protected by the cladding after the cladding is impressioned. The grooves have a rectangular shape and receive an arm of a T-shaped connector clip, for assembling the planks together and mounting them to a deck frame structure without putting holes in the planks.
Furthermore, there is provided a method of manufacturing the plank, which includes the steps of providing a wood core, forming a groove in each side of the wood core, applying a cladding onto the top surface of the wood core, where the cladding is selected to provide weather protection and durability, impressing a texture onto the exposed surface of the cladding, and providing connector clips receivable in the grooves for connecting adjacent planks together in the construction of a deck.
These objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.